A Closer Look

The Scythe Mugen 4 is a single-tower-style cooler with a twist. It actually consists of four towers with a few fins that connect to all the heatpipes. It is definitely unique when compared to the other single-tower-style heatsinks I have reviewed so far. The fact that each set of fins essentially has three heatpipes should make for good thermal conductivity, but I will even put that statement to the test in a bit. That said, the fifty fins per stack are a constant for all four towers.


At just 625 g for the heatsink alone, the cooler is fairly light for its size. This is a dramatic difference to the heavyweight Deepcool Assassin I reviewed previously. Overall, the Mugen 4, while unique, doesn't really stand out, but that's just fine as function over form is what matters when it comes to performance.


Each end of these 6 mm heatpipes has been fitted with caps. While not a make-or-break feature, it does give the Mugen 4 a more complete, higher-quality appearance. Six heatpipes are certainly more than I expected when it comes to this particular type of cooler; in fact, I would say it is nearly unheard of. That said, Scythe decided to use a solid copper base instead of integrating the heatpipes into the base for direct contact with the CPU's IHS.


The base of the Mugen 4 has also received a fair bit of attention with Scythe having polished it to some extent. While not a mirror finish, it is certainly far from the rough, machined base on many competing products.


The Glide Stream fan Scythe provided with the Mugen 4 has the model number SY1225HB125M-P. It is a 120 mm x 25 mm PWM fan that spins at 400-1400 RPM and uses a sleeve bearing. The grooved blades this fan uses help reduce air resistance, which should then keep noise levels in check.